The new Sony Xperia throws a flash and 5MP camera on the front of the phone

Sony is trying something new in the world of the camera phone. Its latest handset, the Xperia C3, which was officially announced on Tuesday, is a fairly standard mid-range Android smartphone with one twist: it’s got a 5MP shooter paired with a flash on the front of the phone, for superior self-portraits.

The Xperia C3 — which also comes in a dual-SIM version and has LTE support — has a 5.5-inch 720p screen, a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor paired with an Adreno 305 GPU and 1GB of RAM. For storing all those 5MP selfies, you have 8GB of built-in storage with the ability to add 32GB more with a microSD card. There’s a traditional, 8MP camera included on the back too.

But the reason a consumer would choose the Xperia C3 over another handset is that front-facing camera, with a 25mm wide angle lens so you can fit all your friends in the picture. Despite the fact that on all modern smartphones the rear-facing shooter is a superior camera, people still like to — and do, in massive numbers — take photos with the front. It’s not about picture quality; it’s about getting the shot. The LED flash will also help with nighttime group party pics and you can conveniently take pictures by double tapping the back of the phone.

Huwaei makes a similar device with a beefed-up front camera, the G6, but it’s a lower-end device with an inferior screen and an outdated version of Android. Plus, it doesn’t have the front-facing flash.

No word on pricing yet, but the Xperia C3 will launch first in China in August, with other markets, including the United States, to follow after that.